Frequent flyers needn't worry about getting cancer from cosmic rays

SUPERMODEL Elle MacPherson reportedly puts her baby in a lead-lined cot during flights. And she is not the only frequent flyer who worries about the higher levels of cosmic radiation. But the good news, according to the biggest study to date, is that the extra doses of cosmic rays do not increase your chances of dying from cancer.

At the cruising altitude of 10,000 metres, people are exposed to up to 150 times as much cosmic radiation as at sea level, and levels are even higher near the poles. Passengers are exposed for so little time it's not considered dangerous. But some studies have suggested that aircrews are twice as likely to get breast cancer, and 15 times as likely to get skin cancer. But these studies only looked at small groups. Now a much larger study of 44,000 airline crew from eight European countries has found that cancer deaths ...

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